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“Just hear those sleigh bells jinglin’, ring ting tinglin’ to…” Tis the season for catchy, classic tunes, hot cocoa by the fire, and holiday DIYs! It is my favorite time of the year and to celebrate it, I’ve created some fresh new content for a new batch of 12 Days of Christmas DIYs that will begin tomorrow, December 1st.

In beginning new DIY cocktails, entertainment, and crafts for the blog I first had to go back through my hundreds of posts to see what I’ve done before. That got me all nostalgic and I had to share some of my favorite Holiday DIYs from Christmas Past.

DIY Branch Holiday Card Display | A Well Crafted Party

DIY Branch Holiday Card Holder

Christmas cards are coming to town and often, I struggle with where to display them! I love opening the mail and seeing bright and shiny faces of my loved ones and messages of holiday cheer. I don’t want them sitting in a pile along with my bills! For a rustic holiday touch, you can easily create a holiday card holder utilizing a fallen or trimmed branch.

Holiday Neighbor Gift | A Well Crafted Party

DIY Holiday Neighbor Gift + Free Printable

Finding holiday gifts that are affordable, but nice for neighbors or coworkers is always something that I struggle with each holiday season. One of my favorite solutions was this Healthy and Happy Holiday gift that included an orange, tea, and honey! The free printable tags could really work for a variety of holiday gift ideas that include healthful treats.

Holiday Wine Gift Tag | A Well Crafted Party

Holiday Wine Gift Tags – Free Printables

Every year I attend at least one or two holiday events where I inevitably want to bring a bottle of wine as a hostess gift or addition to the holiday cheer. Printing off these holiday wine bottle tags makes the gift of wine look intentional and festive!

Holiday Recipe Cards | A Well Crafted Party

Holiday Recipe Cards

Have you ever gone to a holiday potluck and fallen in love with one of the dishes to be disappointed that you have no way to recreate it? I have! These holiday recipe cards make for awesome favors or additions to a holiday potluck so friends can share their favorite recipes.

DIY Holiday Party Food | A Well Crafted Party

Easy DIY Holiday Recipes

Speaking of holiday party recipes… This final favorite DIY is actually a series of easy recipe solutions for holiday parties. My segment on Portland Today shared three easy holiday party food DIYs.

Holiday Party Tips | A Well Crafted Party

More Holiday Party Tips

Want some more simple holiday DIYs? Check out my segment on Afternoon Live where I share some really easy holiday party tips and DIY projects.

 

Cocktails that are easy to create in a batch, friendly to the majority of palettes, and packed full of favorite Fall flavors are perfect for serving at the Thanksgiving holiday. Wild Roots Spirits shared bottles of infused vodka so that I may share a holiday cocktail ready for your Thanksgiving celebrations. While this post is sponsored all opinions are my own. To learn more about my posting policies regarding sponsored posts please visit my policies page. As always, thank you for reading more about the companies that help support this blog. 

 

Biting into a ripe pear is one of the biggest pleasures of the Fall months for me. The bright, crisp flavor of pear combined with the rich spices that are found in so many fall foods (cinnamon, nut meg, all-spice) makes for a wonderful cocktail to serve for a Thanksgiving meal. The cocktail is a perfect start to a Thanksgiving cocktail hour or Friendsgiving cocktail party.

 

Spiced Pear Cocktail featuring Wild Roots Vodka - A Well Crafted Party

Spiced Pear Cocktail featuring Wild Roots Vodka - A Well Crafted Party

 

About Wild Roots: Each bottle of Wild Roots starts with a five-time distilled and five-time filtered grain-based vodka, infused with over a pound of natural Northwest-grown fruit. Their infused vodkas include Apple, Marionberry, Raspberry, and Pear.

 

Single Spiced Pear Vodka Cocktail:

Ingredients/ supplies: 

  • Shaker filled with ice
  • Strainer
  • Martini glass
  • 1 1/4 oz Wild Roots Pear Vodka
  • 2 oz Spiced Pear Juice
  • 1/4 oz Ginger Syrup
  • 2 oz Ginger Ale
  • Pear slices for garnish
  • 3/4 oz Bourbon (Optional) (Bourbon gives this drink great depth of flavor, but if you are looking for a little less alcohol overall then just leave it out.)

Directions:

  1. In a shaker filled with ice pour in the Pear vodka, pear juice, ginger syrup and optional bourbon.
  2. Shake until chilled and mixed well.
  3. Strain into a martini glass.
  4. Top with Ginger Ale
  5. Garnish with Pear Slice and Enjoy!

 

Spiced Pear Cocktail featuring Wild Roots Vodka - A Well Crafted Party

Spiced Pear Cocktail featuring Wild Roots Vodka - A Well Crafted Party

 

Batch Spiced Pear Vodka Cocktail:

For holiday gatherings I really like making larger batches of cocktail mixes so that myself or my guests don’t have to spend the evening playing bartender. I create the base of this recipe and put it in the fridge to chill. Guests simply need to pour into a martini glass and top with the Ginger Ale. This batch makes 8 cocktails.

Ingredients/ supplies: 

  • Pitcher
  • Strainer
  • Martini glasses
  • 10 oz Wild Roots Pear Vodka
  • 16 oz Spiced Pear Juice
  • 2 oz Ginger Syrup
  • 2 oz Ginger Ale per glass – you’ll need 16 oz.
  • 2 oz Water
  • Pear slices for garnish
  • 6 oz Bourbon (Optional) (Bourbon gives this drink great depth of flavor, but if you are looking for a little less alcohol overall then just leave it out.)

Directions:

  1. Pour the pear vodka, pear juice, ginger syrup, water, and optional bourbon into a pitcher.
  2. Stir to mix and place in fridge to chill.
  3. Serve alongside martini glasses pre-garnished with pear slices and ginger ale ready to pour.
  4. Have guests pour in 4 oz of mixture (if there is bourbon) or 3 oz of mixture (without bourbon) and top with two ounces of ginger ale.

 

Spiced Pear Cocktail featuring Wild Roots Vodka - A Well Crafted Party

Cocktail Notes:

I took the easy way out with this cocktail and purchased a spiced pear juice and a ginger syrup (found both at my local New Seasons Market) however, you could totally make your own of both. Creating simple syrups are an easy way to customize a cocktail (and many non-alcoholic beverages). For this cocktail if I didn’t have the spiced pear juice I’d make a ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all-spice simple syrup. If you choose to do this method then reduce your juice to 1 1/2 oz of pear juice and replace the 1/4 oz of ginger syrup with 3/4 oz of this spiced syrup.

Create Your Own Spiced Simple Syrup:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cups sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • nutmeg- freshly ground when possible
  • Fresh peeled ginger
  • 1 teaspoon all spice
  • 5 cloves
  • 5 black peppercorns

Directions:

  1. Combine sugar, water, and spice items into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently.
  2. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat so that the mixture simmers for approximately 10 minutes.
  3. Turn off heat and let cool completely.
  4. Strain the spiced syrup into an airtight container.
  5. Spiced simple syrup can be stored in the fridge for up to one month.

New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty

Classic Game Night New Year’s Eve Party

Going out is great on New Year’s Eve… well, great if you like long lines, high costs, and crowds. For people who enjoy bringing the fun home this idea is perfect.

New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty

I was excited to get to work with Kelsey from Ladies in Navy, Suzannah from Create-Enjoy and local photographer Mary Boyden on a New Year’s Eve party styled shoot. We wanted to show an elegant and classic mix of elements for a fun at-home game night to ring in the new year. Enjoy these gorgeous photos and let them serve as inspiration for your NYE night!

In addition to the gorgeous inspiration you’ll be able to find recipes from the event throughout the week through this blog and the blogs of my co-bloggers. Portland-local vintage rental company Something Borrowed shared some gorgeous vintage pieces for the photoshoot. Currently Something Borrowed is offering holiday dinner packages so that your holiday parties are decked out with gorgeous vintage tableware!

New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty

New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty

New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty

New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty

New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty

Free Printables:

Kelsey and I also collaborated on a beautiful collection of free printables. Kelsey wrote several phrases in her beautiful calligraphers script. I then digitized them and created an invite, signs and party circles. Click on the links below to download your free printables. Save the files to your computer and print on cardstock! I created all of the printable items seen in the photos using these printables, Scotch Brand Expressions Washi tape, and a sequined covered scrapbook paper.

New Year’s Eve Free Printables:

 

New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty

Want more?

New Year's Eve Game Night + Free Printables // A Well Crafted Party - Photos via Mary Boyden View More: http://maryboyden.pass.us/newyearseveparty


 

Resources:
Photography by Mary Boyden— Connect: Website, Facebook, Instagram
Vintage Rentals by Something Borrowed— Connect: Website, Facebook, Instagram
Cocktail Napkins from Hen House Linens— Connect: Website, Facebook, Instagram
Aqua Leather Wrap Bracelet via Flourish Leather— Connect: Website, Facebook, Instagram
Styled Shoot by Bloggers of Create-Enjoy, Ladies in Navy & A Well Crafted Party:
Connect with Suzannah of Create-Enjoy: Website, Facebook, Instagram
Connect with Kelsey of Ladies in Navy: Website, Facebook, Instagram
Connect with ME! Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest OR Click Share on the bottom of this post!